New Delhi: In a letter written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani has said that he sees himself “threatened” by Rajkumar Pandian an IPS officer in Gujarat.
Mevani, the Congress MLA from Vadgam assembly constituency in Gujarat, has requested Shah in the letter dated October 23 that Pandian be immediately suspended or terminated.
In the letter, Mevani mentions that on October 15, he visited Pandian, who is presently posted as the ADGP-SC/ST (Ahmedabad police) to represent the concerns of Dalits in Kutch district, whose land has been illegally upon for several years. Mevani was accompanied by Hitendra Pitadiya, Chairperson of the Congress SC Cell.
“As I entered the office of the ADGP, he very rudely and in a dismissive tone told Shri Pitadiya and I to keep our cell phones out. It was not a request; rather it was an order. He summoned the junior officer to take our cell phones outside his office. I inquired under what legal provision he was making this order,” Mevani has said in the letter to Shah.
Mevani added that thereafter he reminded ADGP Pandian that as a bureaucrat and in accordance with established protocol, he has to demonstrate courteous behaviour towards Mevani, who is an elected public representative.
After hearing this, Pandian told Mevani that the meeting was over, they could leave and there would be no appointments in future and that he will not be permitted to enter his office, Mevani has alleged in his letter. Mevani said that Pandian also reportedly commented on the former’s attire, stating that Mevani had come to meet him wearing a T shirt. Pandian’s intention was to intimidate and threaten him, says Mevani’s letter.
My letter to the honourable Union Home Minister @AmitShah on the possible threat to my life from IPS Rajkumar Pandian.
I write in detail about the October 15 incident. I had met the concerned IPS with issues concerning the dalit community but he chose to misbehave rather than… pic.twitter.com/rW60NQd9qe
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) October 23, 2024
Advertisement
“With his behaviour, especially on the issue of land rights to Dalits, Rajkumar Pandian has not just misbehaved with an elected representative; more he has insulted the dignity, rights and esteem of 50 lakh Dalits in Gujarat. This is unquestionably unacceptable and intolerable,” Mevani has written in his letter to Shah.
“However, I must say that, keeping in mind the history of accusations against and consequential jail term undergone by Rajkumar Pandian (who was charged for a fake encounter under section 302 of the IPC, in jail for about 7 years, and subsequently discharged) I do see myself threatened. I am compelled to say that if any harm is done to me, my life and property and/or the life and property of my family, and to the life and property of Shri Hitendra Pitadiya, and/or the life and property of any of my team members/associates; in any such case, Rajkumar Pandian should be held responsible,” Mevani’s letter states.
Mevani has sought an unconditional apology from Pandian to the Dalits of Gujarat and India.
